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Temperature control must be strictly adhered to ensure the safety of food on the receipt, storage, preparation, cooking and serving of ingredients. The temperature danger zone is between 5 and 63 degrees Celsius. Food, after preparation and cooking, must be kept out of this zone. When hot food has been cooked, it must be retained above 63 degrees to remain free from bacterial growth. Food Safety pathogens will not grow above this temperature. Once food is cooked to 75 degrees C it is safe to eat, all bacteria have been killed. If food is retained at the correct hot-holding temperature, it can be served indefinitely, as it is going to remain safe at that temperature. (Although food quality would be greatly affected by retaining it for that length of time!). No vegetative pathogens will survive temperatures above 60 degrees C, so perhaps cooking to 75 is slightly overkill.

If high risk food is being served cold, it must be refrigerated between 1 and 4 degrees C and held at that temperature until served. Sandwiches and baguettes with protein fillings, pork pies, pates, cold meats, seafood, etc can all cause food poisoning if left at warm temperatures, as any bacteria or spores present will start to grow to dangerous levels. (Spores would only grow as vegetative pathogens after germinating.) It is the vast numbers of bacteria that cause food poisoning. Foodborne diseases are caused by fewer bacteria, which are termed low dose pathogens.

Although there is no time limit to how long hot food can held, from a food safety point of view, cold food can prove to be a problem if held for too long at refrigeration temperatures. Moulds, for example, can start to grow on food within several days, even in very cold conditions.

In the UK, the Four Hour Cold Rule can be used to good effect if there is a rapid turnover of cold food or if refrigerated storage breaks down. If, for example, a batch of sandwiches are prepared for service to the public, and is held in refrigerated display, and that equipment was to subsequently break down, the temperature of the food would start to increase to within the temperature danger zone. In those circumstances, one would be allowed to sell the sandwiches for a maximum of 4 hours from the time of preparation. If any remain after the 4 hours, they must be disposed of.

Some baguette / sandwich companies, which have a quick turnover of product, such as in train stations and airports, are allowed to sell their wares without refrigerating their products, due to this ruling. This ensures the sensory qualities of the food are enhanced. (There is nothing worse than cold rolls or baguettes).

This 4 hour ruling can be considered to be a food safety hazard, however, especially if buffet items are festering for 4 hours, after being prepared, in a warm room. If there are already bacteria present, which there will be, (from handling, environmental particles, cross contamination), they can multiply quite significantly in 4 hours. Bacteria can double in size every 10 minutes. In four hours bacteria will double in size 24 times. If only 10 bacteria are present at the start of the 4 hours, 10 to the power of 24 bacteria will grow in that time. (That is quite a few! In the order of trillions. It only takes 10 to the power of 6 Salmonella to cause food poisoning).

It's tough to create an old-fashioned holiday on a 2006 schedule without delicious holiday cookies. From brightly colored holiday trees to sparkling silver bells and delicate angels these delicious treats make a holiday special.

Indeed homemade cookies are wonderful. However they can be time-consuming to prepare – especially when you use complicated recipes that require hours of time in the refrigerator before they can be cut, baked and iced.

Just in time for the holidays we offer you this easy recipe straight from Austin's own Penny McConnell of Penny's Pastries. This dough needs no refrigeration before rolling and cutting; handles like a dream and produces buttery, great-tasting cookies.

You'll find this and 18 other mouth-watering cookie recipes in the recently released Cookie Stories: Life Moments and the Cookies that Inspired Them (Falling Star Press, 2005) written by Penny McConnell and Kathy Sutton.

Penny's Roll-and-Cut Cookies The recipe can be made as large as your mixer will hold and the finished dough can be held in your freezer for a month. When you're ready to use it simply bring the dough to room temperature before rolling and baking. Finish the cookies with either sparking sugars or slather with tinted Royal frosting or buttercream.

2. In electric mixer bowl, mix butter with sugar until smooth. Remember to just incorporate these ingredients, do not cream until light.

3. Add all liquid ingredients to mixer bowl and process.

4. In a separate bowl, mix flour with baking powder.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and process until heavy dough forms. This dough needs no refrigeration before rolling and cutting.

6. To prepare the dough for rolling and cutting, separate the finished dough into two large balls. Work with one dough ball at a time.

7. Flour a work surface. Knead the dough a few times to smooth it out before rolling.

8. Re-flour the surface if necessary. Sprinkle a light dusting of flour directly on the dough surface. With a rolling pin, roll dough into a disk until the dough is approximately ¼ "thick. (Roll dough thicker if you prefer a more cake-like texture to the finished cookies.) Remember while you're rolling to occasionally lift the dough from the work surface and turn it so it will not stick. Add additional flour to the work surface when necessary.

9. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. The dough scraps can be used several times.

10. Bake 8-10 minutes, rotating pans once during the baking cycle. The cookies are perfect when the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are light blond.

11. Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

You'll want frosting for these cookies so here is a standard recipe for Royal Frosting.

Royal Frosting

12 tablespoons warm water

6 tablespoons meringue powder

7 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoon flavoring such as almond extract

Instructions:

1. Pour warm water into electric mixer bowl. Add all other ingredients.

2. With speed on low, mix ingredients until they form a thick frosting

3. When the icing is smooth, set the mixer on its highest setting and process until the icing goes from shinny to dull, has doubled in volume, and will stand in stiff peaks.

Why does our society seem to seek every way to overcome sickness and disease other than looking in the best Instruction Manual that's been around for thousands of years? Why do we avoid the simplicity of the basics when it comes to our health? The "basics" I refer to are eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise and adequate sleep.

Of course, the best instruction manual I am referring to is the Bible and there must be hundreds of books out there educating us on the importance of adequate exercise and sleep. Yes, there are scads of books on what to eat, too, but if they tell you to eat something that seems to contradict what the Bible says is OK, you probably should do some serious research before incorporating it into a regular eating plan.

There are actually some diet / eating plans being promoted that in the long run, may not be very healthy. What a shame if you lose weight, for example, and then have a heart attack because you were eating way too much meat or did not get adequate nutrition.

Do I even need to mention some things you should obviously avoid if you want to experience optimum health? Folks, as much as I hate to list anything, this is what I see around me in abundance: fried foods, sugar in just about everything it seems, artificial sweeteners, meals heavy in meats with few vegetables and fruits, almost all cooked, ( very little raw foods), and diet drinks.

The foods listed in this report are by no means all the "healthy" foods mentioned in the Bible. They should, however, provide you with some guidance in your food choices.

1. Apples. Song of Solomon. Apples are considered to be the "all around health food." They are high in flavonoids, fiber and Vitamin C. Some of the apple's healing powers include: A. They lower both bad cholesterol and high blood pressure

B. The juices in apples are highly effective virus fighters

C. They help stabilize blood sugar, an important factor in controlling diabetes

D. They suppress the appetite without robbing the body of necessary nutrients

E. Depending on the need, they prevent constipation or help treat diarrhea

One caution: conventionally grown apples may be highly sprayed with pesticides and coated with wax. Purchase organically grown apples when possible.

2. Barley. Deuteronomy 8: 8, Ezekiel 4: 9. Barley's high fiber content can help keep us regular, relieve constipation and ward off a wide variety of digestive problems. It also may help block cancer. Barley is full of beta glucans, a type of fiber that can lower the risk of heart disease by reducing the levels of artery-clogging LDL.

3. Coriander (Cilantro). When the children of Israel wandered in the desert and received manna from the sky, they described it as looking like coriander seed. Since then coriander has been called "the healer from heaven." Coriander is recommended for indigestion, flatulence (excessive gas) and diarrhea. Externally, it's used to ease muscle and joint pain. Recently, scientists began looking at coriander as an anti-inflammatory treatment for arthritis. Other research has demonstrated that it reduces blood sugar levels, an indication that it may prove to be a useful sugar management tool for diabetics.

4. Fish. Luke 24: 42-43. Fish is low in cholesterol and contains healthy polyunsaturated fats. Fish is a rich source of protein, potassium, vitamins and minerals with only a moderate amount of sodium. Eating fish: * Thins the blood

* Protects arteries from damage

* Inhibits blood clots (anti-thrombotic)

* Reduces blood triglycerides

* Lowers LDL blood cholesterol

* Lowers blood pressure

* Reduces risk of heart attack and stroke

* Eases symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

* Reduces risk of lupus

* Relieves migraine headaches

* Fights inflammation

* Helps regulate the immune system

* Inhibits cancer in animals and possibly humans

* Soothes bronchial asthma

* Combats early kidney disease

The key to the healing powers of fish lies in the omega-3 fatty acids. These are particularly concentrated in cold-water fish such as anchovies, bluefish, herring, lake trout, mackerel, sable fish, whitefish, flue fin tuna, salmon and sardines. Note: in deciding between "healthy" and "unhealthy" fish, you can get specific instruction from Lev. 11: 9. Eat only fish which have both fins and scales.

5. Garlic. One of the world's oldest healing foods. By the time of Moses, garlic was already being used as an anticoagulant, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor agent, as well as a relief for flatulence, a diuretic, a sedative, a poultice and as a cure for internal parasites. Research suggests that garlic may help protect against heart disease and stroke by lowering blood pressure. It contains allylic sulfides, which may neutralize carcinogens. In fact, garlic has been linked to lower rates of stomach cancer, too. It is heart-friendly, with scores of studies showing its astonishing ability to fight hypertension, prevent blood clots and lower cholesterol.

6. Fruits, Berries, Grapes. Numbers 13:23, II Samuel 16: 1-2. Grapes were the first thing Noah planted after the flood. Grapes were eaten fresh, dried and eaten as raisins just as we do today, and pressed into cakes. However, most of the crop of the vineyards was made into juice, wine and vinegar. A cup of raw grapes contains only 58 calories, 0.3 grams of fat, zero cholesterol and vitamins A, B and C. Grapes also contain important minerals such as boron, calcium, potassium and zinc.

Grapes may be helpful in preventing osteoporosis, fighting tooth decay, heading off cancer and fighting off viruses. Other health-giving fruits include figs, melons, and pomegranates.

7. Legumes. 2 Samuel 17: 28-29, Genesis 25:34. As reported in the book of Samuel, beans were among the highly nutritious foods sent to feed King David's hungry army and restore their strength for the hard times ahead. Beans have a lot of soluble fiber, which helps lower LDL and reduce blood pressure. The fiber also helps keep blood sugar levels stable, stave off hunger, and even reduce the insulin requirements of people suffering from diabetes.

Beans are a great source of protein as well as being packed full of vitamin C, iron and dietary fiber. Beans help lower blood pressure and reduce the "bad" cholesterol that today's research has shown to be the cause of so much devastating heart trouble — a rarity centuries ago. Beans contain chemicals that inhibit the growth of cancer. They help prevent constipation, can stop hemorrhoids and other bowel-related problems from developing, and help cure them if they do.

8. Nuts, including almonds, pistachio nuts and walnuts. Song of Solomon 6:11, Gen. 43:11. Botanists today believe that Solomon's "garden of nuts" referred to in Scripture was a rich grove of walnut trees. At the time, walnuts were prized for the oil they produced, which was regarded as only slightly inferior to olive oil. The fact that walnuts were a delicious treat and highly nutritious was an added bonus. Nuts contain the right mixtures of natural ingredients whose benefits include cancer prevention, a lower risk of heart disease and help for diabetics. The oil found in walnuts is considered helpful because it is one of the "good guy" polyunsaturated fats and tends to lower blood cholesterol levels. Note: it's best to avoid roasted nuts since they have been found to carry carcinogens, which could lead to cancer growth, so buy your nuts raw.

9. Olives. The olive was one of the most valuable and versatile trees of biblical times. It is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible. Probably the most famous reference to olive oil and its healing powers is in the parable of the good Samaritan, in which the Samaritan cares for a beaten and robbed traveler, treating his wounds with oil and wine. Olive oil, mixed with wine, was even used to soften and soothe bruises and wounds. Known benefits of olive oil include:

* Lowers blood cholesterol

* Reduces LDL (bad) cholesterol levels

* Retards cancer growth

* Reduces the wear and tear of aging on the tissues and organs of the body and brain

* Reduces gastric acidity

* Protects against ulcers and aids the passage of food through the intestines, helping to prevent constipation

* Reduces the risk of gallstones

* Aids normal bone growth

One CAUTION: olive oil has a slight laxative effect, so add it to your diet gradually. One TIP: the more pure the olive oil, the better, so spend a little extra and get Virgin Olive Oil.

10. Onions. Numbers 11: 5. Like its cousin, garlic, the onion is noted as a cure-all. And the folk healers hold it in high regard as far back as 6000 years or more. At least 3000 years before the birth of Christ, onions were treasured both as food and for their therapeutic value — particularly in the treatment of kidney and bladder problems. Some facts about onions:

* Taken internally as a tonic to soothe intestinal gas pains

* Taken internally to alleviate the symptoms of hypertension, high blood sugar and elevated cholesterol

* Some people attribute their long life to a diet that includes high concentrations of onions and yogurt

* The juice of an onion and a syrup made from honey has been used to treat coughs, colds, and asthma attacks

* A tonic of onions soaked in gin has been prescribed for kidney stones and to eliminate excessive fluids

11. Wheat. Jeremiah 41: 8, Ezekiel 4: 9. Wheat was the "staff of life." Biblical people ate their grain boiled and parched, soaked and roasted, and even ate it green from the stalk. It was pounded, dried or crushed to be baked into casseroles, porridges, soups, parched grain salads and desserts. Ezekiel's bread was intended to be a survival food during the dark days of the Babylonion conquest because it contained wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt. Wheat bran is high in insoluble fiber. The fiber protects us against constipation. It helps prevent intestinal infections, hemorrhoids and varicose veins. It also improves bowel function and guards us against colon cancer.

12. Wine. I Timothy 5:23. John 4:46. Making wine from grapes is one of the most ancient arts and the beverage of choice in the Bible. According to Genesis, one of the first things Noah did after the flood was plant a vineyard so he could make wine. Researchers are now rediscovering what the physicians of the Bible knew centuries ago. In moderation, wine has a profound impact on our health and healing. Just a single glass of wine a day may be enough to raise the good cholesterol by 7% and help the body put up a barrier to a variety of cancers.

Wine appears to help stop heart disease and cancer. A study at the University of Ottawa in Canada concluded that there is a clear link between wine consumption and lower rates of heart disease. Countries where more than 90% of alcohol is consumed in the form of wine have the lowest rate of heart disease deaths.

A British study of 100 men and women discovered that a single glass of wine or sherry everyday increased the HDL or good cholesterol. When the group abstained from drinking wine, the HDL level decreased.

Red wine also seems to increase the body's defenses against cancer. White wine may carry some of the same therapeutic benefits, but research so far seems to indicate that red wine is the most effective cancer blocker. Note: be sure to drink only in moderation. Ephesians 5:18.

As you can see, the Bible lists a lot of foods, foods that are actually available to us today, that we could be consuming to prevent illness, serious diseases and many trips to the doctor. Good health is not that difficult, but you do have to work at it a bit. It's a balance of what you eat, exercise, sleep, avoiding stress, taking vitamin supplements. And strange as it may seem, the Bible is actually a complete instruction Manual for all of this.

In conclusion, the 12 healing foods listed here are only a partial list of healing foods found in the Bible. However, this report provides abundant evidence that God has placed on this earth, many health-giving foods for our consumption. A person who makes a serious effort to daily eat some of these health-giving foods, while avoiding health-destroying foods, certainly can expect to reap the benefits of a healthier body.

With household cleaners, detergents and anti-bacterial soaps being what they are today, homeowners are finding out just how expensive septic tank repair can be the hard way. Slow, backed-up septic systems are causing a concern that in recent years has been on the rise throughout the world. What was once thought to be a relatively maintenance free component to a home, has proven to be financially disastrous to many homeowners, especially in these uncertain economic times.

The housing boom of recent past caused many consumers to enter into area of ​​homeownership. While we have all heard about the foreclosure and mortgage debacle that has gone on, many of us are unaware of the financial hardships falling upon homeowners that did not default on their homes, but were significant impacted by the resulting collapse of the banking infrastructure. With investment accounts and retirement plans a fraction of what they were, homeowners did not need to be dealt another blow in the pocket books, and that is exactly what we are seeing with septic tank failure.

Naturally, a demand for less expensive alternatives to septic tank replacement and repair surfaced and as the market usually does, a number of companies surfaced as well offering a solution at a price homeowners can afford. Problem is, many homeowners do not know enough about how a septic tank functions to understand just what is needed to treat it. An epidemic of Scams is breaking out throughout the industry, with both expensive liquid shocks and monthly liquid treatments being sold to consumers had hundreds of dollars, knowing full well that the normal day to day activity of the home will render these liquid treatments completely ineffective.

To break this down to the most basic level is to say that septic tanks are designed to house the waste from your home. It is housed there until the naturally occurring bacteria and enzymes are able to digest this waste into liquid form. This liquid is then dispersed into your drain field. At any given time in a septic tank, you have waste at the bottom of the tank, you have a scum layer on the top of the tank, and in the middle you have the liquid to be dispersed as mentioned above. As a septic system malfunctions the waste at the bottom and scum at the top grow bigger until it begins to clog the pipes and drains in your home.

When you treat or "shock" your septic system, you are hoping to deliver fast acting bacteria to clean out the pipes then attack the waste and scum or bio-mat at the top of the tank. Once you restore the bacteria levels, destroyed from household cleaners, detergents and soaps, it is only a matter of time until the system begins to function again. However liquid treatments; compared far more effective granular ones, slide past most of the bacteria in the pipes. It sits in the septic tank, where it begins to work, however one too many flushes of the toilet, a long shower or the worst offender of all, a load of laundry is done and all of that liquid is swept out through the system and dispersed in your drain field without ever having the time to go to work. While the products themselves would work, if absolutely no additional water was used in your home for a month or so, that is just not practical for most homeowners who live and must use their home daily.

By choosing a granular septic tank treatment and shock, a homeowner can count on the bacteria and enzymes settling throughout their pipes and settling to the bottom of the septic tank where it can penetrate, digest and restore your septic system. In addition, granular septic treatments tend to be less expensive, keeping the scammers focused on selling the liquid alternative.

There is no doubt that homeowners NEED TO TREAT their septic system, but they should certainly beware of liquid shocks and treatments as they are nothing more than a waste of time and money.

With the advent of smartphones, every single task of our lives has become easier day by day through the use of apps. Be it cooking, reading the newspaper, booking a cab and the most popular- socializing, apps have revolutionized our lives to a significant extent. And when it comes to the arena of socializing, dating apps and sites are certainly one of the most popular destinations for the singles.

What Are The Advantages Of A Dating Site ?

To name a few, here are some, out of a long list of benefits that an online dating site may offer you.

Distance can no more be a barrier for love. Apps have broadened the range of people with whom you can talk. Who knows, your soul mate might be living in someplace that you have never visited yet!

Dating apps can also take you to people with similar interests and choices, or to put it simple, just "Your" kind of person! So you do not have to keep looking for people with the same interest as yours and finally get disappointed after not having found one among your friend circle.

These apps make dating convenient for people who are shy or nervous about having a face-to-face interaction on their first date. It helps you staying at ease with your partner much before you meet him / her in person.

Dating apps have also made it convenient for the singles to interact on a faster and easier basis, with its simple and easy joining process that allows you to create a profile based on few questions.

What Is A BBW Dating App?

BBW dating apps and sites are some of the trending apps created especially for all the plus size beautiful and curvy singles and admirers.

For all the curvy girls, if you have ever been embarrassed because of your body, then these apps have to tell you something that you have a long list of admirers out there!

With a number of dating sites and apps being available just a click away, you might end up being confused about which app would be the right one to look for the right kind of partner. You might be unsure about the genuineness of the person you just met online.

Well, BBW dating site makes sure that each and every single profile, as well as the pictures, are genuine with its privacy policies.

So if you are single, and you think you still have not found the right one, then BBW dating app is THE destination you need to look. Who knows, your partner might also be waiting there online for you!

Multivitamins – who uses them? Well, you probably do, Americans spend $ 4,000,000,000 a year on multivitamins alone. 70% Australians are no less keen on them, spending a tiny $ 2,300,000,000, and yes … that is a ton of zeros !!

Who needs them? Well the number of people that can say that every day they honestly eat a well-balanced diet of containing lots of fruits, nuts and vegetables, whole grains, dairy, along with chicken and fish is not just low, it is merely non-existent . Of the people who think they are doing well, most do not realize the sheer quantities that have to be consumed to maintain that 'well-balanced diet'.

Okay, so almost everyone needs a multivitamin, but which one to choose? Having 30,000+ vitamins on the market presents so much choice it normally is a case of finding the bottle you think looks the nicest … or the cheapest. After all, a vitamin is a vitamin right?

Fortunately, 7 Canadian and American biochemists have come to rescue us from our ignorance. They looked at and compared what is in each of these multivitamins by separating and measuring each ingredient – that is, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and other components.

They put together the 'perfect' multivitamin, which actually does not exist as some vitamins needs to be taken separately and it would be the size of large chestnut, and rather difficult to swallow!

They examined how absorbable the vitamins were, whether they were in the right amounts / form and the variety of vitamins and minerals. Also looked at was having the vitamins in the right combinations for the body's needs. The score was how close each one was to that perfect multivitamin out of 100%.

A staggering 50 out of the total 110 multivitamins did not even reach 10% and only the top 11 multivitamins were above 25% of what the human body needs on a daily basis.

The popular supermarket brands all featured below 10% possibly due to being forced to compete on price with other supermarkets. The downside for you, means the product you take every day is a hugely inferior supplement.

In other words, you get what you pay for. In some cases ignorance is bliss, in others it is a big wakeup call. My father has taken supplements for many years before and after he developed cancer and never once questioned the quality of what he was consuming. After reading this, he too, wondered why he ever thought not to research something so important to his health, when he did such a great job of researching anything else that he bought.

My advice, choose a multivitamin that is backed by a great company with a good reputation and do not just buy any old vitamin because of the price. You would be better off spending the money on something else.